Poor Record Keeping, Bane Of FOI Act Implementation

6 min read 1,190 words 14 views

Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, SAN, says
that poor record keeping and management are the major challenges
preventing effective and efficient implementation of the Freedom of
information Act by public institutions.

He added that lack of willingness ‘in many quarters’ to accept
the new information regime imposed by the FOI Act prevents its full
implementation.

He stated that vigorous implementation of the Act is essential
for Nigeria to make significant breakthrough in the enthronement of
good governance.

Malami spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at an event organised by the
ministry to commemorate 10 years of implementation of the Act in
the country.

The theme of the event was, “A Decade of Implementing the
Freedom of Information Act by Public Institutions and Developing
Sustainable Strategies for Strengthening the FOI Act.”

The minister was represented by his Special Assistant on Cyber
Crimes, Mr. Abiodun Aikomo.

“Section 29 of the Act places on the Attorney-General and
Minister of Justice the responsibility and obligation to oversee
compliance with the Act, especially by the MDAs.

“As such, the Office of the Attorney -General had published
regulations on implementation and reporting requirements under the
FOI Act, 2011 for public institutions on January 29, 2012

“This was closely followed with the guidelines on the
implementation issued on March 15, 2012 and the revised edition
issued on February 27, 2013.”

The minister expressed concerns that the implementation of the
Act had encountered several challenges among the different
MDAs.

“Notwithstanding the laudable and noble objectives of the FOI
Act and the regulations made pursuant thereto, there have been a
lot of challenges towards the effective and efficient
implementation of the Act by public institutions.

“Among such challenges are poor record keeping and management,
lack of willingness in many quarters to accept the new information
regime imposed by the FOI Act in Nigeria.”

The Head of FOI Unit in the Ministry, Mr. Ichibor Gowon, said
that the unit had received 489 reports from 176 MDAs.

“In the first year of implementation in 2011, we received annual
compliance report from 16 MDAs; in 2012, 32 MDAs submitted their
reports; and in 2013, 51 submitted.

“For 2014, we got reports from 60 MDAs; 2015, we received
reports from 44; in 2016, 54 MDAs submitted their reports; and in
2017, we had 73 reports.

“The number went down in 2018 where only 70 MDAs submitted their
reports; but increased in 2019 with 89 MDAs bringing reports; and
in 2020, we had reports from 73 MDAs.”

Mrs Ene Nwankpa of Right to Know, a civil society organisation,
decried the slow implementation of the FOI Act, saying that it was
discouraging.

“There has been a systemic process of denial in the
implementation of the act in such a way that some MDAs acknowledge
receipt of a request for information but will never act on it.

“We also discovered that some MDAs forward some requests to the
Department of State Services and so we have DSS officials
constantly stalking our offices or asking why we are demanding for
certain information.”

Some of the MDAs present on the occasion, how, as well as
outlining which departments or units should handle FOI
requests.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Freedom of
Information Act came into operation on May 28, 2011 to enable the
Nigerian public have access to certain government information in
order to ensure transparency and accountability.

The Act is designed to make it easier for citizens to hold the
government accountable, especially, in an event of misappropriation
of public funds.(NAN)